Larry v Katrina – the difference is how the ‘underclass’ behaves!

On the anniversary of Cyclone Larry it is appropriate to celebrate and appreciate the courage and determination of the people of Innisfail. Contributing Bastard, JR at A Western Heart takes it as an opportunity to suggest:

…that the North Queensland town of Innisfail got a bigger blow than New Orleans did but there were no deaths and the place is mostly back to normal after only a week. The difference between how an underclass behaves and how country people behave might have something to do with it.

But why sully this praise with the insinuation that the differences may be attributed to the predominantly black underclass of New Orleans? No evidence is presented to support the argument. One presumes it’s an opportunity to express some racial prejudice.

Far more relevant would be a comparison of the emergency management procedures and systems in each case. Australia has an enviable record in dealing with crises such as these. The same cannot be said of the US FEMA. The head of FEMA at the time was a crony appointment by George W Bush – a man with absolutely no experience or qualifications for the job.

The problems in NO began with a failure to enact timely evacuation procedures and went downhill from there, with FEMA paralysed in inaction for several days after Katrina’s landfall – most of the systems in place failed to work from lack of leadership and inadequate resources.

NO survived Katrina remarkably well – it was the collapse of the levy and the resultant inundation of the Ninth Ward which caused the most damage. Despite accurate modeling and that it had been known for years that the aging levy system needed urgent repair, the US administration had neglected to do the necessary work to protect New Orleans.

The short version is that New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen, and the blame for that rests assuredly with State and Federal administrations, not the the poor working class residents, or the insinuation of some imagined racial inferiority.